Where does “fool” come from?
Fool comes from Middle English fole, from Old French fol, from Latin follis, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bʰel-.
fool (English): A person with poor judgment or little...
Definitions
- A person with poor judgment or little...
Ancestry of “fool”, step by step
fool traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French fouler
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | fouler | to stamp, impress, dent; to mill; to walk on,... |
| 2 | Middle French | fouller | to mistreat |
| 3 | Old French | foler | to destroy; to mistreat |
| 4 | Medieval Latin | fullo | fuller |
| 5 | Latin | fullo | fuller |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰleh₃- | bloom, flower |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰel- | to sound; to speak, roar, bark; shiny, white; to... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰōl- | — |